There is a record of 2,781 billionaires spread across the world this year, according to the ranking of Forbesand most of them live in the same locations: the publication estimates that just ten cities are home to almost a quarter (25%) of billionaires around the globe.
The preference of the super rich continues to be New York, the main residence of around 110 billionaires who are collectively worth US$694 billion (approximately R$3.5 trillion). The city has long dominated the rankings, coming first in every last 11 years except 2021, when Beijing, China briefly held the top spot.
Hong Kong and Moscow tie for second place, with 74 billionaires each. Mumbai, India also made a big jump, from seventh to fourth, after adding 13 more billionaires since last year. See which are the 10 cities with the most billionaires in the world:
1. New York
- Total billionaires: 110
- Total net worth: $694 billion
- Richest resident: Michael Bloomberg ($106 billion)
With 110 billionaires – 9 more than last year – New York City maintains its status as a billionaire capital. The city’s two richest residents represent a quarter of its billion-dollar wealth: media mogul and former mayor Michael Bloomberg (estimated net worth: $106 billion) and Koch Industries heiress Julia Koch ($64 .3 billion). New York is also home to eight new billionaires, including Jean Madar ($1.1 billion), co-founder of French fragrance company Interparfums, and Assaf Rappaport ($1 billion), co-founder of Israeli cloud security startup Wiz .
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2. Moscow (draw with Hong Kong)
- Total billionaires: 74
- Total net worth: $378 billion
- Richest resident: Vagit Alekperov ($28.6 billion)
The city gained 12 new billionaires this year, some of whom after cashing in, including Vladimir Melnikov ($1.7 billion), whose fast-fashion brand Gloria Jeans has seen sales rise 28% in the past two years.
2. Hong Kong (draw with Moscow)
- Total billionaires: 74
- Total net worth: $326 billion
- Richest resident: Li Ka-shing ($37.3 billion)
Hong Kong returned to second place this year, this time tying with Moscow, after a modest increase to 74 billionaires. Among its billionaire residents are eight newcomers, including Jean-Louis van der Velde ($3.9 billion), co-founder and CEO of crypto firms Tether and Bitfinex, and Solina Chau ($3.1 billion), whose venture capital fund, Horizons Ventures, was an early investor in technology companies such as Facebook, Spotify and Zoom.
4.Mumbai
- Total billionaires: 69
- Total net worth: $379 billion
- Richest resident: Mukesh Ambani ($116 billion)
Climbing three places to fourth place, Mumbai gained 11 billionaires. The Indian city is home to Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani ($116 billion worth), as well as Shapoor Mistry ($9.9 billion), an Irish citizen who controls the engineering and construction giant Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
5. Beijing
- Total billionaires: 63
- Total net worth: $211 billion
- Richest resident: Zhang Yiming ($43.4 billion)
China’s capital has lost 32 billionaires since its brief stint at the top of the list in 2021. The number of 63 residents remains steady from last year, although their combined net worth fell 14% due to the country’s economic struggles. Two newcomers emerged in Beijing this year: Dai Wenyuan ($1.6 billion), founder and CEO of AI software company 4Paradigm, and Zheng Fan ($1.5 billion), director of Li Auto, a manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Beijing.
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6. London
- Total billionaires: 62
- Total net worth: $326 billion
- Richest resident: Len Blavatnik ($32.1 billion)
London fell from 4th place on the list in 2022 to its current position at 6th place. The city added no newcomers this year and lost one of its most iconic residents, Mohamed Al Fayed, who died in August at age 94. The billionaire was known for being the former owner of Harrod’s department store and father of Dodi Fayed, who died in a car accident alongside Princess Diana in 1997.
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7. Shanghai
- Total billionaires: 54
- Total net worth: $167 billion
- Richest resident: Colin Huang ($38.9 billion)
Shanghai lost the most billionaires this year, from a total of 65 billionaires to the current 54. At the same time, it welcomed eight new billionaires, most of whom made their fortunes in the technology industry. The city’s richest resident is Colin Huang ($38.9 billion), founder of e-commerce giant PPD Holdings.
8. Los Angeles
- Total billionaires: 53
- Total net worth: $222 billion
- Richest resident: John Tu ($13.6 billion)
The billionaire celebrity boom is driving Los Angeles forward. The city’s billionaires include LeBron James ($1.2 billion), Kim Kardashian ($1.7 billion) and singer Rihanna ($1.4 billion).
9. Singapore
- Total billionaires: 52
- Total net worth: $156 billion
- Richest resident: Eduardo Saverin ($28 billion)
Singapore continues its rise as one of the most popular cities for the ultra-rich. Since the city-state appeared in 9th position on the list last year, it has gained 6 billionaires, jumping to 8th position. Singapore is home to Eduardo Saverin ($28 billion), the Brazilian co-founder of Facebook, and two trios of brothers: Bachtiar Karim ($1.4 billion), Burhan Karim ($1.2 billion) and Bahari Karim ( US$1.2 billion), who together run the palm oil company Musim Mas.
10. San Francisco
- Total billionaires: 50
- Total net worth: $185 billion
- Richest resident: Dustin Moskovitz ($18.3 billion)
Dozens of billionaires have emerged from Silicon Valley’s roots, including San Francisco’s richest resident, Facebook and Asana co-founder Dustin Moskovitz ($18.3 billion), Stanford computer science professor David Cheriton ($12.6 billion) and six newcomers, including Ivan Zhao ($1.5 billion), co-founder and CEO of Notion, as well as OpenAI chief and technology investor Sam Altman ($1 billion).
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Tags: cities billionaires Forbes ranking World
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